Nomacorc Announces First Zero Carbon Footprint Closure

Date: 04/24/13

Nomacorc, the leading producer of alternative wine closures, today introduced the world’s first zero carbon footprint wine closure, Select® Bio. Made with plant-based polymers derived from sugar cane, Select Bio will be first presented to the industry during the Intervitis Interfructa trade show April 24 – 27, 2013 in the Stuttgart Messe in Germany.

Engineered to be the best closure solution for sustainable wineries and their wines, Select Bio closures will be 100 percent recyclable and made using renewable, plant-based materials. The closures will mirror Nomacorc’s current Select® Series portfolio in oxygen management performance. As with other Select Series products, Select Bio will minimize the environmental impact of wines by preventing spoilage and waste from wine faults such as oxidation and reduction. By consistently delivering the right amount of oxygen into the bottle using a carbon neutral closure, sustainability-minded wineries will now be able to deliver their wines just as they intend.

“Select Bio is an exciting milestone in Nomacorc’s long history of industry-leading research and innovation,” said Lars von Kantzow, president & CEO, Nomacorc LLC. “Not only are we able to serve wineries seeking a more reliable and sustainable packaging solution, but we can reduce our overall corporate carbon footprint while taking an important first step towards our goal of minimizing the use of fossil-based energy and materials across our entire range of products.”

Select Bio is especially well-suited for organic and biodynamic wines that minimize the use of sulfites for wine preservation. Through Nomacorc’s patented co-extrusion process, Select Bio has the ability to control oxygen ingress, reducing a wine’s susceptibility to spoilage due to oxygen mismanagement while improving post-bottle aging and bottle-to-bottle consistency. Select Bio’s plant-based polymers are derived from sugar cane, which, due to its renewable nature, contributes a negative carbon footprint value. Incorporating these polymers into Nomacorc’s formulation fully offsets positive emissions originating from conventional raw materials in the product, resulting in closures having a zero carbon footprint.

“The use of plant-based materials provides extra benefits to the already strong performance of Nomacorc closures in end-of-life disposal scenarios, including recycling and incineration,” said Dr. Olav Aagaard, Nomacorc’s principal scientist. “So when evaluating a closure’s carbon footprint, its susceptibility to spoiling wine and the environmental impact of end-of-life disposal, Select Bio is clearly the only solution that fully addresses all three aspects of the closure’s life cycle.”

The Select Bio Series will include three distinct products, each with different oxygen ingress levels. It will have the same look and feel as the traditional Select Series including serrated ends, chamfered edges, custom side printing and optional custom end-printing. The Select Bio Series will be offered for bottling trials with a select group of Nomacorc customers following the Intervitis wine fair. The full portfolio will be commercially available for the 2014 bottling season.

Nomacorc is a worldwide leader in wine closures and the No. 1 closure brand for still wines in many countries including France, Germany and the United States. Dedicated to technological innovation, Nomacorc manufactures its portfolio of products using a patented co-extrusion process. As a result, Nomacorc closures provide consistent, predictable oxygen management and protect against off-flavors due to oxidation, reduction or cork taint. Nomacorc’s 100 percent recyclable products are available through a vast network of distributors and sales agents on six continents. With 500 employees worldwide and state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in the United States, Belgium, China and Argentina, Nomacorc produces more than 2 billion closures annually. Working with renowned wine research institutes worldwide, the company leads the wine closure industry in fundamental and applied research into oxygen management in wine. For more information, visit nomacorc.com or follow Nomacorc on Twitter (@Nomacorc) and Facebook (Nomacorc).